The hidden hurt
by RoninStar Goddess
Summary: <html><head></head>Had this done, but forgot to put it on here, so enjoy</html>


It had been two years since the incident at the Opera House, but still things were not right as they were suppose to be. Anguish and hurt, fear and disgust, all these feelings and more mixed inside her, Christine was happily married to the man she loved so dearly Raoul, but something terrible had happened to her the month before she was married to Raoul, Erik her psychotic stalker, had raped the month before she was to be married.

The attack had left mental scars and left Christine in a fragile state, so fragile that she would hardly let Raoul touch her on their wedding night. Raoul was so enraged, not at his new wife, but at Erik for making her feel this way, he offered a large reward for Erik to be caught, he said that the demon must be killed or proof that he was dead brought to him.

A month after attack, the couple had be married for the hole month without hardly anything going wrong, when Christine found out she was with child, fear had overcome Christine, the fear that the child growing inside her was not the life she hoped to have been conceived out love and the joy being with the love she shared with her new husband, but might have been conceived out of pure lust, by a mad-man who wanted his sick pleasures with her alone. She had yet to tell Raoul about this hidden fear, but had told him about the pregnancy, he was overjoyed at the news.

One day Raoul saw his lovely wife sitting on a stone wall in the garden, as he got closer to her he could tell that she seemed unhappy, even though she was 2 months away from giving birth, Raoul decided to try and cheer her up, as he sat next to her Christine was holding her enlarged stomach, she still held the same sad look in her eyes..

"Looks like you're coming along just fine, you've got a glow to you," Raoul told her as he sat next to his beloved, not even that could cheer her up, Christine knew she had to tell him, now or never.

"There's something I fear," said Christine, Raoul wrapped his arms around her, his arms covered her arms that were still holding her enlarged stomach.

"What is that?" asked Raoul, Christine took a deep breath and sallowed back a wave of tears.

"That this child inside me isn't yours, I'm scared," Christine answered, as she trembled at the thought of how the conception was if it turned out the child was not Raoul's. She remembered it as if had just happened, the darkness all around her, her screams for Erik to stop went unheard, the sounds of his grunts each time he pushed into her sicken her to the core of her soul. The sudden warmth of Raoul's embrace around her body stopped some of the trembling.

"Oh my love," Raoul told her tenderly as he held her close.

"Erik raped me so many times, I thought for sure, and then the month before we were to get married. I swore on my life that I would bear no other mans child, and that I would only carry your child inside me," said Christine.

"Don't think of those awful nightmares, it's all behind you now, you've been pregnant for 7 months, and we've been married for that long, there is no doubt that the child you are carrying inside of you is mine," said Raoul, trying his best to comfort his new wife.

"There's going to be a party at a friend of my father's tonight, come with me, it will at least take your mind off things," Raoul told her.

"I...I don't know if I can," Christine said, sounding unsure, Raoul turned her face toward his.

"I am not man that would hid his beautiful wife away from the rest of the world, and not when she is carrying the life of our first child," said Raoul.

"You...you wouldn't hide me from the world? Even though I've already been touched and might be carrying a other mans child?" asked Christine.

"Both of us know you were touched against your will, I don't give a damn about what they think, I love you more than anything in the world," Raoul told her.

They took a carriage to lavish estate, but on the way there, thoughts ran through Christine's mind, she was starting to think it was bad idea to come to this party.

`Maybe I should've stayed back home, I won't fit in with these kind of people. They'll be whispering about me and some may know that I have already been touched, they'll know that Raoul married me anyway, they'll be sick at the sight of me, disgusted even. I'll never be accepted by them.` thought Christine as she held her stomach a little, Raoul could that wife seemed uneasy about something.

"Christine, are you alright? If you're not feeling well, I'll have the driver take us back," Raoul told her, she snapped back to reality.

"Oh, no, I'm fine Raoul, I guess I'm a little nervous about tonight, it's been a while since I've been out to places like this since the attack," replied Christine, she knew that wasn't the truth, but Raoul believed her any way. The carriage arrived at the estate, both the driver and Raoul helped Christine out of the carriage, and Raoul helped her up the stairs.

When they arrived inside, one of the servants announced them at the top of the stairs. "The Vicomte Raoul DeChangny and his wife the Vicomtess Christine DeChangny," their names echoed over the room, everyone turned and looked at them as the two descended the stairs. When they came onto the floor, the whispers started to flow. Christine could hear some of them.

"Is that the Vicomte's new wife?"

"Yes, she's quite stunning and unless my eyes are playing tricks on me, I think she's with child,"

"Are you sure?"

"Oh yes, she's got a lovely glow to her, I heard she's two months away, I'm sure the Vicomte is over-joyed with this news,"

"I also heard she had a stalker for a good while, and the stalker was insane,"

"That's not all I heard about, the stalker had raped her a month before the wedding,"

"You don't say! And after all that the Vicomte still married her? She's no longer a virgin, does he know that his wife may be carrying a other mans child?"

"If he does, I suppose he'll raise it as his own, I think she's seven months along and they've been married for that long, it is possible that she's carrying the Vicomte's child,"

Christine wanted the whispering to stop, she didn't want to be reminded of what happen to her, Raoul could tell she was becoming upset as he too could hear some of the whispers, he knew she wanted to run out of there, away from all of this. At times Raoul would pull her into an embrace to try and comfort her, to try and keep her from running off. It had helped some knowing she was in her husband's protective embrace.

They found themselves talking to some of the guests, they were talking with a young couple, much like themselves, the husband not very well taken with Christine when he got the word about her possible `condition`, she was a bit afraid, and the wife she pretended that Christine wasn't even there.

"So Vicomte I understand this is your new wife?"

"Indeed Lawrence, this is my beautiful wife Christine," replied Raoul. Lawrence studied Christine, she was a little shy as the man looked her over.

"I see, maybe you could've chosen better," said Lawrence.

"Excuse me?" asked Raoul.

"I myself would have chosen a wife that had not already been `touched` like your beloved wife, everyone knows what happened the month before the wedding, I would have tossed her aside" sneered Lawrence as he shot Christine a look of disgust, but thankfully Raoul stepped between her and Lawrence, as if to defend her.

"You seem to have a short memory, my fiancée was touched _against_ her will, and no force on earth could take me from her, I'm not angry at my wife, but at her attacker. I suggest that if ever say anything like that about my wife again, I will show no mercy on your soul," replied Raoul, Christine could see that her husband was becoming upset.

"Raoul," she told her husband as she grabbed his arm, Raoul turned and looked at Christine, he could tell she was becoming upset, his look went from anger to concerned as he looked at his wife, her look was of worry as she used her free hand to hold her stomach.

"Please, let us step outside for some fresh air, before your temper gets the best of you," Christine told him, sounding timid and scared, not wanting to upset his wife to the point of tears. Raoul politely excused himself from Lawrence and his wife.

Christine sat on a bench when they came to an outside garden, Raoul was trying his hardest to clam down, after what Lawrence had just said about his wife he wanted to punch the man into the next country, but he didn't want to show his anger, not in front of Christine.

"Please don't be too upset love, I know what he said was uncalled for, but don't be angry," said Christine as she tried to calm Raoul back down to his kind and gentle self, he sighed and sat down next to his wife.

"I'm sorry Christine, but I don't want to see you get hurt in anyway again, Lawrence was way out of line, he had no right to say what he did," answered Raoul. Christine sighed.

Raoul had to think of something to cheer his wife up again, he never meant to upset Christine like this. The two of them stayed outside for at least 3 hours, the party started to whined down, it was then they chose to go back home, Raoul helped Christine up from the bench. As he helped her up, Christine unknowingly trip on a small rock, she let out a small yelp, Raoul caught her just in time and helped her back on her feet.

Christine looked up at her husbands loving, caring eyes, and Raoul couldn't help but be locked on his beautiful wife's eyes, their eyes seem to lock, Christine had one of her hands on her enlarged stomach, she tried to say words to him, but could only mouth the words.

"Love me," she seem to tell him, he placed a finger on her lips as if shush her, the look and smile Raoul gave in return told her that he knew what she was trying to tell him, Raoul held Christine's free hand while he placed his other hand on top of Christine's hand that was on her stomach, he pulled her into a passion filled kiss.

"Shall we go home?" Raoul asked his wife.

"Yes, we shall, my love," answered Christine, and the two left for home.


End file.
